As neo-pagans try to co-opt this Vigil Day for themselves, we’re taking All Hallows' Eve back for Holy Mother Church with this fantastic collection.
It features Liturgical Propers of The Mass and The Divine Office for All Hallows' Eve, including the full version of "Black Vespers", an old Breton Tradition for the afternoon of Halloween.
Combat the occult worship of the secular holiday with three powerful Prayers against evil spirits, witchcraft, and spells. And transform your children's Halloween, or All Saints' "Trick-or-Treating", from mere indulgence to a Spiritual Work of Mercy with the venerable practice of "Souling"—Praying for The Dear Departed.
Combining Celtic, English, and Latin Traditions, this unique booklet provides adults and children with an unashamedly Catholic, and historically authentic, way to celebrate the beginning of Hallowtide.
September 2019 ~ 26 pages ~ booklet ~ 5.5" x 4" ~ $3.00
Born at Alcantara, Spain, of noble parents, Peter distributed his fortune in alms (Gospel) and, at the age of sixteen, entered The Seraphic Order of Saint Francis.
A very rigid observer of the primitive Franciscan Rule, he led a most austere life. His great Devotion to The Passion of Jesus inspired him with an extraordinary love of Penance.
He died in 1562, and, appearing to Saint Teresa of Avila, he said to her: "Oh, Blessed Penance, which has earned for me such great glory !"
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.
Saint Peter of Alcantara, O.F.M. (Spanish: San Pedro de Alcántara) (1499 – October 18, 1562), was a SpanishFranciscanFriar Canonised in 1699.
He was born at Alcántara, Province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. His father, Peter Garavita, was the Governor of Alcántara, and his mother was of the noble family of Sanabia. He decided to join The Franciscans at the age of sixteen. Shortly after, he was sent to University in Salamanca by his stepfather.
Returning home, he became a Franciscan Friar of The Stricter Observance in the Friary at Manxaretes, Extremadura, Spain, in 1515. At the age of twenty-two, he was sent to Found a new Community of The Stricter Observance at Badajoz. He was ordained a Priest in 1524, and, the following year, was appointed Guardian of The Friary of Saint Mary of The Angels, at Robredillo, Old Castile.
A few years later, he began Preaching with much success. He preferred to Preach to The Poor; his Sermons, taken largely from The Prophets and Sapiential Books, breathe the tenderest human sympathy. At the time Peter entered The Order, the reform of "The Discalced Friars" consisted of the Custody of The Friaries in Spain and Santa Maria Pietatis, in Portugal, all subject to The Minister General of The Observants.
He was a man of remarkable austerity and poverty, who travelled throughout Spain Preaching the Gospel to The Poor. He wrote a Treatise on Prayer and Meditation, which was considered a masterpiece by Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Francis de Sales, and Louis of Granada.
While in Prayer and Contemplation, he was often seen in ecstasies and levitation. On his deathbed, he was offered a glass of water, which he refused, saying: "Even my Lord Jesus Christ thirsted on The Cross". He died while on his knees in Prayer on 18 October 1562 in a Monastery at Arenas (now Arenas de San Pedro, Province of Ávila, Old Castile), Spain.
Saint Luke, originally a pagan, was born, according to Eusebius, at Antioch, the Capital of the Kings of Syria. Saint Paul tells us that he exercised the profession of a physician. He accompanied Saint Paul (The Apostle of the Nations) on his travels, and was with him during most of his Missions and when he was twice a prisoner in Rome.
Owing to his connection with this Master and the other Apostles, he was enabled to write The Third Gospel, which Saint Jerome and Saint John Chrysostom describe as "The Gospel of Saint Paul".
Like The Doctor of The Gentiles (Saint Paul), he addresses himself to pagans to show them that Salvation is brought by Jesus to all men, without exception, who believe in Him. He is symbolically represented as an Ox, one of the four animals in the Vision of Ezechiel [Third Lesson of The First Nocturn at Matins], because, at the beginning of his Gospel, he mentions the Priesthood of Zacharias, and because the Ox was usually the victim in the sacrifices of The Old Law.
The Mass of Saint Luke, like that of Saint Mark, offers this particular; that its Gospel refers to the instructions given by The Saviour to His seventy-two Disciples, both these Evangelists (Luke and Mark) not having been Apostles, but only Disciples of Our Lord.
Saint Jerome relates that Saint Luke died in Achaia, Greece, at the age off eighty-four.
Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia, unless otherwise stated.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. Virgin. Feast Day 17 October.
Double.
White Vestments.
English: Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. Catholic Parish Church of
Saint Gordian and Saint Epimachus, Merazhofen, Germany.
Sculptor: Peter Paul Metz, 1896.
Deutsch: Margaretha Maria Alacoque. Kath. Pfarrkirche St. Gordian und Epimachus, Merazhofen, Stadt Leutkirch im Allgäu, Landkreis Ravensburg. Chorgestühl.
1896, Bildhauer: Peter Paul Metz.
Polski: Małgorzata Maria Alacoque. Rzeźba z kościoła parafialnego pw. św.
Gordona i Epimachusa w Merazhofen (Niemcy). Autor dzieła: Peter Paul Metz, 1896.
Photo: May 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Andreas Præfcke.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, V.H.M. (French: Marguerite-Marie Alacoque) (1647-1690), was a FrenchRoman CatholicNun and Mystic, who promoted Devotion to The Sacred Heart of Jesus in its modern form. [Editor: The Order of The Visitation of Holy Mary (V.H.M.), or The Visitation Order, is a Roman CatholicReligious Order for Women. Members of The Order are also known as The Salesian Sisters, or, more commonly, as The Visitandines.]
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque was born in 1647, in L'Hautecour, France, now part of the Commune of Verosvres, then in the Duchy of Burgundy, the only daughter of Claude Alacoque and Philiberte Lamyn, who had also several sons. From early childhood, Margaret was described as showing intense love for The Blessed Sacrament, and as preferring silence and Prayer to childhood play.
After her First Communion, at the age of nine, she practised, in secret, severe corporal mortification, until rheumatic fever confined her to bed for four years. At the end of this period, having made a Vow to The Blessed Virgin to Consecrate herself to Religious Life, she was instantly restored to perfect health. In recognition of this favour, she added the name "Mary" to her Baptismal name of "Margaret". According to her later account of her life, she had visions of Jesus Christ, which she thought were a normal part of human experience, and continued to practice austerity.
English: Apses of the Basilica of Paray-le-Monial, France.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque entered here in May 1671.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque lost her father at a young age, and the family's assets were held by a relative, who refused to hand them over, plunging her family into poverty. During this time, her only consolation was frequent visits to Pray before The Blessed Sacrament in the local Church. When she was seventeen, however, the family regained their fortune and her mother encouraged her to go out into society, in the hope of her finding a suitable husband. Out of obedience, and believing that her childhood Vow was no longer binding, she began to accompany her brothers in the social events of her society, attending Dances and Balls.
One night, however, she returned home, dressed in her finery, from a Ball for a Carnival, when she experienced a vision of Christ, scourged and bloody, in which He reproached her for her forgetfulness of Him, and of how His Heart was filled with love for her, due to her promise. As a result, she determined to fulfil her Vow, and entered, when almost twenty-four years of age, The Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial, on 25 May 1671, intending to become a Nun.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque was subjected to many trials to prove the genuineness of her vocation. She was "Admitted to Wearing The Religious Habit" on 25 August 1671, but was not allowed to make her "Religious Profession" on the same date of the following year, which would have been normal. Finally, she was admitted to "Profession" on 6 November 1672.
English: Painting of Jesus appearing to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.
In this Monastery, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque received several private revelations of The Sacred Heart, the first on 27 December 1673, and the final one eighteen months later. The visions revealed to her the form of the Devotion, the chief features being reception of Holy Communion on The First Friday of each month, Eucharistic Adoration during a "Holy Hour" on Thursdays, and the Celebration of The Feast of The Sacred Heart. She stated that, in her vision, she was instructed to spend an hour every Thursday night to meditate on Jesus' Agony in The Garden of Gethsemane. The Holy Hour practice later became widespread among Catholics.
On 27 December 1673, The Feast of Saint John (Apostle and Evangelist), Saint Margaret Mary reported that Jesus permitted her to rest her head upon His Heart, and then disclosed to her The Wonders of His Love, telling her that He desired to make them known to all mankind and to diffuse The Treasures of His Goodness, and that He had chosen her for this work.
Initially, discouraged in her efforts to follow the instruction she had received in her visions, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque was eventually able to convince her Superior, Mother de Saumaise, of the authenticity of her visions. She was unable, however, to convince a group of Theologians of the validity of her apparitions, nor was she any more successful with many of the Members of her own Community, and suffered greatly at their hands.
She eventually received the support of Saint Claude de la Colombière, S.J., The Community's Confessor for a time, who declared that the visions were genuine. In 1683, opposition in The Community ended when Mother Melin was elected Superior and named Saint Margaret Mary as her Assistant. She later became Novice Mistress, and saw the Monastery observe The Feast of The Sacred Heart, privately, beginning in 1686. Two years later, a Chapel was built at the Basilica of Paray-le-Monial to honour The Sacred Heart. Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque died on 17 October 1690.
After Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque's death, the Devotion to The Sacred Heart was fostered by The Jesuits and was the subject of controversies within The Church. The practice was not officially recognised until seventy-five years later.
The discussion of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque's own mission and qualities continued for years. All her actions, her revelations, her spiritual maxims, her teachings regarding the Devotion to The Sacred Heart, of which she was the chief exponent, as well as the Apostle, were subjected to the most severe and minute examination, and, finally, The Sacred Congregation of Rites passed a favourable vote on the Heroic Virtues of this "Servant of God".
English: Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque contemplating The Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Italiano: Santa Margherita Maria Alacoque contempla il Sacro Cuore di Gesù.
Polski: Św. Małgorzata Maria Alacoque adoruje Najświętsze Serce Jezusa.
In March 1824, Pope Leo XII pronounced her Venerable and, on 18 September 1864, Blessed Pope Pius IX declared her Blessed. When her tomb was Canonically opened in July 1830, two instantaneous cures were recorded to have taken place. Her incorrupt body rests above the Side Altar in The Chapel of The Apparitions, located at The Visitation Monastery in Paray-le-Monial, and many striking Blessings have been claimed by Pilgrims attracted there from all parts of the World.
In his 1928 Encyclical,Miserentissimus Redemptor, Pope Pius XI affirmed The Church's position, regarding the credibility of her visions of Jesus Christ, by speaking of Jesus as having "manifested Himself" to Saint Margaret Mary and having "promised her that all those who rendered this honour to His Heart would be endowed with an abundance of Heavenly Graces".
The Vision of The Sacred Heart of Jesus appearing to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque's short Devotional Writing, “La Devotion au Sacré-Coeur de Jesus” (“Devotion to The Sacred Heart of Jesus”), was published posthumously by
J. Croiset in 1698, and is popular among Catholics.
"And He [Christ] showed me that it was His great desire of being loved by men, and of withdrawing them from the path of ruin, that made Him form the design of manifesting His Heart to men, with all the treasures of Love, of Mercy, of Grace, of Sanctification and Salvation, which it contains, in order that those who desire to render Him and procure Him all the honour and love possible, might themselves be abundantly enriched with those Divine Treasures, of which His Heart is the source." — from "Revelations of Our Lord to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque".
In James Joyce's Short Story, "Eveline", part of his "Dubliners", a "coloured print of the promises made to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque" is mentioned, as part of the decorations of an Irish home at the turn of the 20th-Century, testifying to Saint Margaret Mary's enduring popularity among Irish Catholics.
English: Stained-Glass Window in the Church of Our Lady of Vertus, Aubervilliers, France, depicting Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque seeing Our Lord's Sacred Heart.
The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.
Margaret Mary Alacoque was born at Vérosvres, in the Diocese of Autun, France, in 1647. While still young, she Consecrated herself to Jesus Christ by a Vow of Perpetual Virginity. At the age of twenty-three, she entered the Convent of The Visitation Order at Paray-le-Monial, France.
The Mysteries of The Sacred Heart were revealed to her in three special manifestations, all unknown to her Community. Saint Margaret Mary spent the last years of her life in spreading this Devotion. She died on 17 October 1690, at the age of forty-three years. Her body was buried under a slab, close to the grille in the Nuns' Chapel, on the spot where she was kneeling when Our Lord appeared to her.
She was Beatified by Pope Pius IX, in 1864, and Canonised by Pope Benedict XV on The Feast of The Ascension 1920. Pope Pius XI extended her Feast to the whole Church on 28 June 1929.
In order to live in the spirit of The Liturgy (which is also the spirit of The Church), and Consecrate The First Friday Of The Month to The Sacred Heart (as The Church does by granting Indulgences), let us adapt this Devotion to the different Feasts of The Cycle. It will thus give a greater variety, both in its material object (The Sacred Heart of Jesus born at Christmas, dying on Good Friday, rising again at Easter), and in its formal object, the love of Jesus in His Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries.
As neo-pagans try to co-opt this Vigil Day for themselves, we’re taking All Hallows' Eve back for Holy Mother Church with this fantastic collection.
It features Liturgical Propers of The Mass and The Divine Office for All Hallows' Eve, including the full version of "Black Vespers", an old Breton Tradition for the afternoon of Halloween.
Combat the occult worship of the secular holiday with three powerful Prayers against evil spirits, witchcraft, and spells. And transform your children's Halloween, or All Saints' "Trick-or-Treating", from mere indulgence to a Spiritual Work of Mercy with the venerable practice of "Souling"—Praying for The Dear Departed.
Combining Celtic, English, and Latin Traditions, this unique booklet provides adults and children with an unashamedly Catholic, and historically authentic, way to celebrate the beginning of Hallowtide.
September 2019 ~ 26 pages ~ booklet ~ 5.5" x 4" ~ $3.00
Hedwig, of Royal Birth, and still more illustrious by the innocence of her life, was the daughter of Berthold, Prince of Carinthia, and aunt, on the mother's side, of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
Having married Henry, Duke of Poland, she fulfilled her duties as wife in so holy a fashion that The Church compares her to the strong woman, whose portrait is drawn for us by The Holy Ghost in today's Epistle.
She had three sons and three daughters. She macerated her body, both by Fasting and Watching [Editor: Prayer before The Blessed Sacrament], and by the roughness of her clothes. She was very charitable to The Poor, whom she served at table.
Her husband, the Duke, having died, Hedwig, like the merchant mentioned in the Gospel, gave away all her riches to acquire The Precious Pearl of Eternal Life.
After Praying earnestly, and under Divine inspiration, she generously exchanged Worldly pomp for The Life of The Cross (Collect), entering The Cistercian Monastery of Trebnitz, where her daughter was Abbess.
She died on 15 October 1243, and Poland honours her with special Veneration as her Patroness.
Mass: Cognóvi.
English: The Church of Saint Hedwig, in Legnickie Pole, used to be part of The Benedictine Monastery, and, therefore, it shares the inscription in The Cultural Monuments Registry with the buildings of the former Monastery. Today, it is an ordinary Parish Church.
Polski: Kościół św. Jadwigi w Legnickim Polu pierwotnie stanowił kościół przyklasztorny benedyktynów, stąd jest wpisany na listę zabytków wspólnie z dawnym zespołem klasztornym. Obecnie jest zwykłym kościołem parafialnym.
The image of Saint Hedwig is taken from the Web-Site of Saint Hedwig Parish, 872, Brunswick Avenue, Trenton, New Jersey NJ 08638, United States of America www.sainthedwigparish.com
The legend of its Foundation relates that Duke Henry, when out hunting, fell into a swamp, from which he could not extricate himself. In return for his rescue from this perilous position, he vowed to build the Abbey. With Hedwig's consent, her brother, Ekbert of Andechs, then Bishop of Bamberg, chose the first Nuns that occupied the Convent.
The first Abbess was Petrussa, from Kitzingen Abbey; she was followed by Gertrude, the daughter of Hedwig. The Abbey was richly endowed with lands by Duke Henry. When Hedwig became a Widow, in 1238, she went to live at Trzebnica and was finally buried there.
The Church of Saint Hedwig, Legnickie Pole, Poland.
Up to 1515, the Abbesses were First Princesses of The Piast Dynasty, and. afterwards, members of the nobility.
It is said that, towards the end of the 13th-Century, the Nuns numbered 120. The Abbey also became a mausoleum of many Rulers of the fragmented Silesian Piasts. In 1672, there were thirty-two Nuns and six Lay Sisters; in 1805, there were twenty-three Nuns and six Lay Sisters. At the Protestant Reformation, most of the Nuns were Poles, as were the majority until the 18th-Century.
English: Saint Hedwig of Andechs Church, Ząbkowice Śląskie, Poland.
Polski: Zabytkowy kościół parafialny p.w. św.
Jadwigi w dawnym Sadlnie, obecnie części Ząbkowic Śląskich.
The Abbey of Trebnitz suffered so greatly, during The Thirty Years War (1618 - 1648), that the Nuns fled across the Border onto the territory of the mostly-unaffected Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as they did again in 1663, when the Turks threatened Silesia.
In 1742, in the aftermath of The First Silesian War and the Treaty of Breslau, Trebnitz found itself under the governance of Protestant Prussia and started to suffer from political discrimination.
The last Abbess, Dominica von Giller, died on 17 August 1810, and, on 11 November 1810, the Abbey was suppressed and Secularised, by Order of King Frederick William III. The building, which was extensive, was sold later and turned into a cloth factory.
English: Saint Hedwig of Andechs Church, Ząbkowice Śląskie, Poland.
Polski: Wnętrze zabytkowego kościoła parafialnego p.w. św.
Jadwigi w dawnym Sadlnie, obecnie części Ząbkowic Śląskich.
In the 19th-Century, the ruined Abbey was bought by The Knights Hospitaller and, later, by The Order of Sisters of Saint Charles Borromeo, as a hospital.
The Church, a Basilica, has Pillars in the Late-Romanesque Style, to which Baroque additions were made from 1741. It features several paintings with scenes from the life of Saint Hedwig by Michael Willmann. After the Secularisation of the Abbey, it became the Trebnitz Parish Church.
English: The Basilica of Saint Hedwig, Trzebnica, Poland.
Polski: Trzebnica, kościół, ob. par. p.w. śś. Bartłomieja i Jadwigi, 2 poł. XIII.
The grave of Saint Hedwig is located in a Chapel, to the Right of The High Altar, donated by her grandson, Archbishop Ladislaus of Salzburg, in 1267. The grave of Duke Henry I, her husband, is in front of The High Altar.
